Page 6 of Mercenary Princess

Chapter 3

Paris, France

Sophia’s fingers tightened around the grab handle above the door of the dark sedan, trying her best not to end up in Jen’s lap as the guard maneuvered the car with the precision of a grand prix driver. It seemed the dark, nearly empty Paris streets were her racetrack. So much for enjoying the beautiful, moonlit night with a leisurely ride from her opulent suite at the Hôtel Le Lys Royal. With an inward sigh, she admitted a “relaxing drive” would never be her destiny as long as the ex–Secret Service agent was behind the wheel.

“Is this really necessary?” Sophia gritted out. Her attempts at remaining upright proved futile as the car swung into an alley and burst through to an empty street going in the opposite direction from the one they’d come. This was a little much, even for Jen. Sophia looked out the windows, checking the mirrors for anything she could have missed. The powerful revving of the engine was the only sound as the German machinery careened through mostly vacant streets.

“Wouldn’t want me to lose my edge, would you?” Jen drawled, but there was an unmistakable twinkle in the guard’s eye when she glanced over. At nearly thirty, the other woman carried off a look that was very sixties rebel, with cat eyeliner and the occasional cigarette she smoked while off duty. Her dark hair was pulled back in a high, functional ponytail, and she’d gone with a dark sweater and jeans instead of the black suit that was her usual uniform. It was as much of a disguise as she needed.

Sophia shook her head as she noted her guard’s quirked lips as they roared into another unpredictable turn.

Sophia groaned, bracing her body as best she could, praying that the handle didn’t snap off. There was a very good chance Jen had been a getaway driver in a past life. The other guards refused to allow her to drive anywhere for exactly this reason.

Sophia found herself huffing. “So, let me confirm—there are no threats; you simply enjoy driving like we just robbed someone. Is the Mona Lisa in the backseat?” She’d only seen a few cars out as they neared a more residential area, and none had seemed to be following them. They’d taken a different route last night, so the turns kept catching her unaware. This way seemed far longer already.

“I didn’t say that.”

Those words stilled Sophia before her heart rate kicked up. Sitting straighter, she scrutinized the mirrors again for something she might have missed.

Jen glanced over. “It’s fine, Sophia.” When it was only the two of them, Jen cut the formal address. They were friends. But Jen’s calm tone did little to alleviate the tension in Sophia’s shoulders.

Had they been followed and she’d completely been oblivious to it? That wasn’t like her. She was always as aware of her surroundings as any of her security team. It wasn’t wise to let down her guard, not only because she was royal, but because she was part of a far more dangerous game. Jen was a part of her covert activities, and it made her the best guard Sophia could ever have had, but Jen was still only one guard.

Sophia’s heart continued to race as she searched the shadows along passing roads. Each car parked on the tree-lined streets suddenly seemed to pose a silent, dark threat. The streets held an eerie, too-quiet feel. “You think we have a tail?”

“I’m saying if anyone was following, they aren’t now.”

Sophia assessed the other woman, sensing there was more to what she’d said, yet she knew Jen would tell her if there was a threat. It was far safer and smarter that way.

Jen’s résumé and referrals had made it impossible for her brother not to find her suitable. Sophia’d made sure of it when she’d pushed her family for a female guard. She and her friends had handpicked the woman for the skills and connections that had since been erased from her records. If there were a threat, her friend would calmly detail a plan. That was her way.

Sophia would have lost her mind long ago if she’d been forced to spend the last two years without Jen’s easing qualities. Having one person around who was aware of her secret life had been invaluable to Sophia’s sanity, but Jen was also one of the best at what she did. Nothing shook the guard.

After a few more moments of staring in the mirrors and peering down streets, the tension in Sophia’s shoulders finally started to dissipate.

Jen was skilled and paid to be extra vigilant. The woman had swept the car for trackers at the same time she’d checked for explosives, making the odds good that they were as safe as her friend’s relaxed frame seemed to indicate. But Sophia had been on edge since they’d gotten to the club earlier, first because of the operation and then because of the damned Russian.

If there had been a tail, she needed to know who it was. There hadn’t been any indication that something had gone wrong with the operation. There’d been lust—dark, scary, chop her up into little pieces lust—in Jean Luc’s eyes, but she hadn’t seen suspicion. Unless she’d missed something, like she’d missed the tail. That was enough to bring back her tension.

If it hadn’t been Jean Luc, there were unfortunately more than a few other options.

Viktor was staying in the same hotel as she was, but he’d made no attempt to communicate with her at the nightclub or at the hotel, so she was doubtful he’d been the one following. The idea was more seductive than she liked to admit. She really needed to end her fixation with the Russian.

“What did the car look like?”

“Two SUVs. Both dark. They entered from different roads just after we left the hotel. May have been nothing. I didn’t get a look at the plates before I lost them.” Better to lose a potential tail quickly than get a plate number. Those were Jen’s security rules for when they were alone. As it was—just the two of them without another car of guards—Sophia wholeheartedly agreed with that philosophy.

“So not paparazzi or one of the stalkers on the list?” Paparazzi could be stealthy, but most worked alone, so two thinking they’d find her out after retiring to the hotel wasn’t likely. And a stalker wouldn’t have a partner either, would they?

“Nope.”

Sophia’s grip on the handle above the door tightened as her heart rate sped up again. That left less savory alternatives. “Who do you think it was?”

“Your brother has few enemies, but that’s always a consideration,” Jen answered, seeming unconvinced of her own words as she scanned the roads. Abduction and ransom attempts were always a possibility for the wealthy. Most rarely, if ever, made it to the news because they were taken care of in-house, usually with payoffs.

That left an abduction attempt as a warning or threat. Fortunately for Sophia, Jen was right—her brother didn’t have criminal ties or enemies on that level. Another option would be local extremists with political agendas, but Porenza had little to no issues that would warrant taking the crown princess.

Jen seemed to know where Sophia’s mind headed next. “I don’t think it was Antony. I doubt he’d have men follow us to see what you’re doing so he could tell your brother. He’d be more concerned with securing you back at the hotel.” Antony was an asshole, but Jen was right. As Sophia’s head of security, he’d never have let her leave the hotel just to see where she was sneaking away to.

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